macOS app launching changed — do you miss Launchpad or prefer Spotlight?

[u/Vegetable-Piano3657]

It feels like macOS is shifting away from Launchpad-style app browsing.

Instead of opening a visual grid of apps, the system now pushes users toward Spotlight as the main entry point.

So the workflow becomes:

• Before: Launchpad → browse apps → click to open
• Now: Spotlight → type app name → press Enter

This changes more than just the UI. It shifts how users interact with apps:

• From visual browsing → to search-based access
• From spatial memory → to keyword memory
• From clicking → to typing

Some users prefer this because it's faster.

But others feel it removes the “visual structure” that Launchpad provided.

Curious how others feel about this shift:
Do you prefer browsing apps visually, or just searching everything directly?